Houston Texans OL Kenyon Green faced some of the NFL's toughest interior defensive linemen in his rookie campaign. In a test by fire, Green earned his first start at left guard in Week 2 at Denver capped off the year with his best performance in Week 18 at Indianapolis.
"I saw him the day after," General Manager Nick Caserio said via SportsRadio 610. "He was actually encouraged because I said to him, 'Look, big man, like you played one of your best games here yesterday.' I think he appreciated that. But I think his eyes were open to, you know what? Okay, I can play at a good level. I know I'm not consistent right now. I have a lot of work in front of me, but I can't wait to get started was the overarching theme that he kind of expressed."
In what Caserio describes as a "murderers' row" of the league's best defensive tackles, Green went toe-to-toe with the likes of Jeffery Simmons (Titans), Javon Hargrave (Eagles), Dexter Lawrence (Giants) and Jonathan Allen (Commanders) in a four-week stretch from Weeks 8-11.
"I feel like I improved a lot and just, you know, my mental aspect, especially in the game too, going against great players throughout the whole year," Green said. "Things that I felt like I got better with are my feet, my hand placement is getting better. I'm going to continue to work on that in the offseason and just keep building and be ready for the next upcoming year."
Drafted by the Texans with the 15th overall selection, Green had a rocky start to his NFL career. After dealing with a knee issue in the offseason, Green also missed time in preseason after suffering a concussion.
With one season under his belt, Green is ready to get to work on making the leap to Year 2.
"I can't wait for this off season," Green said. "You know, I have a full offseason that came off of injury last year, you know, had surgery and everything. So I have a full, complete offseason that I can, you know, get better and I'm very excited."
